Adjustable lock for hinges.



D. E. SCHELL.

ADJUSTABLE LOCK FOR HINGES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE H, 1915.

8 1 ,1 88,839. Patented June 27, 1916.

WETEU srarns rnanwr @FEEIQE.

DELBERT E. SCHELL, 0F GALION, OHIO, ASSIGN'OR OF ONE-HALF TO HARRY B.GREIG, OF GALION, OHIO.

ADJUSTABLE LOOK FOR HINGES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2?, 1915.

Application filed June 11, 1915. Serial No. 33,593.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Dnnsnn'r E. SoI-IELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Galion, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Looksfor Hinges, of which the following is a specification.

This invention, broadly considered, comprehends certain new and usefulimprovements in adjustable locking means for hinges, and relatesparticularly to an improved automatic ratchet device for use inconnection with adjustable gates, end-gates, side-boards, stakes,loading skids and the like, for vehicles, although it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in this regard and thatwherever the term end-gate is used hereinafter'in the specification aswell in the claims, it is used in its broadest significance or meaning,and is intended to embrace any equivalent part.

The invention has for its primary object a simple, durable and efficientconstruction of device or mechanism of this character in which the partsare so formed and arranged that they may be very easily and quicklymanufactured, readily assembled, and not liable to get out of order orrequire any attention, but will be capable of being easily operatedwhereby the end-gate, for example, may be quickly moved from a verticalto a more or less lowered position andheld in the desired position asrequired, and even more quickly raised again to a higher ele' vation orfully closed position. And the invention also aims to generally improvedevices of this class so as to render them more useful and commerciallydesirable.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions,arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafterfully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawlng, in which,

Figure l is an elevation of an end-gate having my invention incorporatedtherewith, and Fig. 2 is a side View of the device, the parts beingshown in dotted lines in diflerent positions.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and designated in all of the views of the accompanymgdrawing by like reference characters.

In the present embodiment of the invention, wherein the invention isshown as used 1n connection with a vehicleend-gate, two of the ratchetdevices will ordinarily be employed, but as they are substantiallyduplicates, a description of one will suffice for both, particularlywhen it is considered that in connection with stakes, for instance, theratchet device is used singly with each stake.

Inthe drawing, the numeral 1 designates a mam supporting member orbracket which may be formed for attachment to a vehicle body in anydesired way and attached thereto by any suitable fastening devices, saidbracket being preferably bifurcated at one end as shown, although it isto be understood that the invention is not limited in this regard. Theforked end of the bracket 1 is formed in each of its forked members andin the edge thereof with any desired number of ratchet teeth orshoulders designated 2, there being three of these in the presentembodiment of the invention and being preferably connected together bybeveled surfaces 3, as clearly illustrated in the drawing, and below thelowermost tooth or shoulder of the series, the edge of the bracket ispreferably curved, as indicated at a.

The bracket 1 is formed with transverse apertures extending therethroughto receive a supporting rod, shaft, or pintle 5, it being understoodthat it is within the purview of this invention to have the two rods 5separate and distinct from each other or as a single integral rod orshaft, as desired, and an arm 6 is pivotally mounted on and supported bythe part 5, which I shall hereinafter generally term a pivot, said armbeing formed with apertures or otherwise whereby it may be securedreadily to the side of an end-gate or other gate, or to sideboards,stakes, standards, or skids.

7 designates the latch or pawl. This is perferably angular in transverseor horizontal section, being designed to extend partially around the arm6 and formed with two side members connected by a transverse member orweb, the latch being formed in either one or both of its side memberswith a longitudinal slot or slots 9 designed to reing, and a contractilespring 14 yieldingly' connects the latch to the arm as, for example,through the instrumentality of the pin 10 and movable lever and latchconnection 11, or otherwise,'whereby the spring will tend to move thelatch in adirection to engage the ratchet teeth or shoulders and holdthe same in such engagement until released by the manual or otheroperation of the lever 12.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, the operation of my improved automatic ratchet mechanism willbe apparent. In the practical use of the device, assuming for example,that two of these devices are used in connection with an end-gate whichis here shown in the form of a frame, designated A, and operativelyconnected and supported by the arms 6 so that the same will operatesimultaneously, the end-gate will be held as long as desired in anupright or vertical position by the engagement of the latches 7 with thefirst ratchet teeth or shoulders in the series. If it is desired tolower the endgate slightly, that is, to swing it outwardly to anupwardly and rearwardly inclined position, it is only necessary for theoperator to grasp one of the levers 12 and raise same, whereupon thelatches 7 will be released from said teeth or shoulders and may bepermitted to slide down the bevel surfaces 3 into engagement with thenext teeth or shoulders in the series. Again, if it is desired to movethe end-gate to a horizontal position so that it may be used to extendthe bed of the vehicle body or to be used as a platform extension orscoop board, the same operation is repeated, as is manifest, and thesame is true if it is desired to move the end-gate downwardly so thatthe latches 7 will pass the lowermost teeth in the series and freelyride upon the curved surfaces 4: in which position they will not be heldat all, but the end-gate may be maintained in the desired downwardly andrearwardly inclined positions by its free edge resting upon the groundor other surface so that it may be used as a bridge or loading skid.Subsequently, when it is desired to again raise the endgate, to a fullyclosed or any intermediate position, this operation may be very easilyperformed, as is manifest, for the latches 7 will merely ride upon thebevel surfaces 3 in each successive engagement with the ratchet teeth. V

lVhen the invention is embodied in an end-gate construction, thefulcrums 13 for the two levers 12, at opposite sides of the end-gate,are preferably composed of a their lower ends that they will have a camor eccentric arrangement upon the pivot or pivots 5 sorthat when thearms are lowered to the lowermost position so that the device may beused as a loading skid, this cam arrangement will bring the outersurfaces of the arms flush with the outer edges of the notches on thebrackets 1. Consequently, when articles are rolled up the skid to. theplatform or body of the vehicle, they will not catch on the notches ofthe bracket. 7

It will thus be seen that I have provided a very simple, durable andefficient construction of device of this character, which may be easilymanufactured and readily as: sembled, and which may not only beused inconnection with end-gates or side boards, but also used singlyin'connection with adjustable standards, stakes, or skids.

lVhile the accompanying drawing illus trates what I believe to be thepreferred.

embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention isnot limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in theconstruction, arrangements and proportions of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appendedclaims. V that is claimed, is r 1. In a device of the characterdescribed, a bracket vertically bifurcated to provide parallel spacedvertical ears, there being a vertical wall defining the inner end of thebifurcation, an arm pivoted between said ears for rotary movement, thepivot of the arm being below the upper edge of the wall,

said arm engaging the wall when turned to a vertical position, the wallthereby acting as a stop preventing further movement of the arm in adirection toward the wall, the ears being'formed upon their edges "withratchet teeth, and a spring actuated latch ca ri o the a n engag ng d.ateh teeth.

2. In a device of the character described, a bracket having a bifurcatedend to provide parallel spaced vertical ears with a r l r ce ng pe ng exnd ng th through and formed in the edge ofthe ears 1 with a plurality ofshoulders spaced from said opening, an arm mounted in the bifurcated endof the bracket, a pintle mounted in said opening and extending throughthe arm to pivotally connect the latter to the bracket, latch carried bysaid arm and extending thereacross for engagement With the shoulders, onboth sides of the bracket, and a releasing lever fulcrumed on andcarried by said arm and operatively connected to said latch.

3. In a device of the character described, a bracket formed With apintle receiving opening and in its edge, spaced from said opening Withshoulders, a pintle mounted in said opening, an arm mounted on saidpintle and pivotally connected to said DELBERT E. SCHELL.

l/Vitnesses W. J. GEEK,

GARDA HOLMES.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner e2 Eatenta, Washington, D 0."

